Introduction: Higher education as a human right

Abstract

The concept of human rights has a lengthy and theoretically diverse history as both a philosophy and a corresponding system of laws and protections. Fundamental and collective values are translated into a set of laws to protect individuals in a way that will benefit society. Societal philosophies have ranged from broad and equal protections to unequal protections that were justified as good for broader society. In relation to education, the seventeenth-century philosopher and theologian Comenius is credited with focusing on education as a universal right without respect to class, sex, race, or any other category.